Top 10 Things You Need To Know About The 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season

1. Toyota Makes Its NEXTEL Cup Debut

The Toyota Camry will make its NEXTEL Cup debut in 2007. This "foreign" entry into America's number one motorsports series has fans riled up. Many fans believe that Toyota has no place in NASCAR.

Toyota entered the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 and won the championship in 2006. Will they be able to climb to the top of the NEXTEL Cup Series standings that quickly? Toyota has extremely deep pockets and will spend whatever money it takes to win in NASCAR.

2. 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Schedule

You can't be a NASCAR fan if you don't know where they are racing this week. The 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup schedule is nearly identical to the 2006 schedule with only a couple of very minor tweaks. Here is the full listing of 2007 NEXTEL Cup events.

3. More Points Are Now Awarded For Winning A Race

NASCAR wanted to increase the incentive for drivers to race for the win instead of coasting around and settling for a solid finish. For 2007 NASCAR made some changes to the NEXTEL Cup series points. They increased the points awarded to the winner by five points.

NASCAR also changed the way that The Chase drivers are seeded to start The Chase. Now regular season race wins give you a head start in The Chase as each regular season win is worth ten additional points.

4. Car Of Tomorrow Will Debut In Bristol

NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow will make its debut at Bristol on March 25th and be used for a total of 16 races this year. This is an entirely different race car design. Created over the last five-plus years to be safer, more competitive and cheaper for the race teams.

5. Six Rookies To Run For Raybestos Rookie Of The Year Honors

Six new NEXTEL Cup drivers will compete full-time for the 2007 Raybestos Rookie Of The Year title. These drivers bring a variety of racing experience into the NEXTEL Cup series. In 2006 Denny Hamlin set the bar high for NEXTEL Cup rookies with two points wins and an amazing third place finish in the points. Can any of this year's rookies match Hamlin's impressive performance?

6. The Chase Now Includes Twelve Drivers

Since The Chase format was announced in 2004 the top ten drivers in points competed over the final ten races of the season to determine the Championship. In 2007 the number of drivers qualifying for The Chase has been increased to twelve. This will help ensure that all of NASCAR's top stars qualify for The Chase. This is good for ticket sales and TV ratings as more fans will tune in if their driver has a shot at the Cup.

7. NBC No Longer Televises NASCAR As ESPN Returns

NASCAR's new eight year television contract takes effect in 2007 with some important changes for fans. NBC, which many fans disliked, no longer has any NASCAR coverage. 2007's points races will begin with Fox, continue with TNT, and finish up with a combination of ABC and ESPN.

8. Juan Pablo Montoya Brings His Talents To NASCAR

Juan Pablo Montoya has been successful in every type of motorsport he has ever tried. In 1999 he won the CART Rookie Of The Year and the CART Championship in the same year. The following year he won the Indianapolis 500. The year after that he moved to Formula 1 and won his first race that same season. and

Juan Pablo Montoya is an incredibly talented race car driver. Will his skills translate to NASCAR? If car owner Chip Ganassi can put winning equipment under him I think JPM will be a star in a very short time.

9. Many Drivers Have Switched Seats For 2007

As the NEXTEL Cup teams start the 2007 season there are 18 drivers working with unfamiliar teams. This number is higher than normal because of the addition of Toyota to NEXTEL Cup. The new teams caused a domino effect as some top names jumped to the Toyota camp. Then their old seats were filled which left empty space and so on. It is going to take a few weeks before I figure out who is driving what this year.

10. Mark Martin Still Has Not Retired From NEXTEL Cup

Originally Mark Martin announced that 2005 would be his last full season in NEXTEL Cup racing. Then Jack Roush was cought up in a silly season struggle that left him one driver short. Mark agreed to stay on for one more year.

Now 2007 finds him leaving Jack Roush Racing after 19 years to go drive part time for Ginn Racing. Mark is scheduled to run 22 races in the Ginn Racing #01 U.S. Army car. Mark will also be helping mentor rookie Regan Smith who will be driving the car for the other 16 NEXTEL Cup races.